By Linky van der Merwe

Recently I attended the Peak Work Performance Summit hosted by Dr Ron Friedman. Ron Friedman, PhD, is an award-winning social psychologist who specializes in human motivation and he’s author of the book: “The Best Place to Work”.

In the previous article: “What I Have Learned About Peak Work Performance” I shared some great takeaways from the speakers who were interviewed. In this article I’m going to share more views from well-known productivity experts.

Building an external brain

I was really impressed with how much I’ve learnt from David Allen, author of “Getting things done”. Here are two highlights.

He explained how we are bad at remembering, but good at recognizing. We need to clear internal mental space to make room for good ideas. Our head is for having ideas; not for holding them. That’s what he means by building an external brain – objectify it; get your head empty.

He’s also of the opinion that you shouldn’t take notes on a laptop. It’s better to write things down and to see lists visually rather than digitally.

Combat procrastination

People procrastinate because they feel out of control or uncertain about what to do or where to start. If tasks are described on a physical level of what to do next by using verbs, it’s much easier to have a kick-start. if not, you procrastinate and you have the nagging feeling of ‘when will I do this?’  So remember, put them all on your list with next actionable steps and review it regularly.

Essentials only

A few valuable lessons can be learned from Greg McKeown on determining what is essential and eliminating everything else. He authored the book: ‘Essentialism – Disciplined pursuit of less.

He explained that if you want to become distinctive; find out what makes you really good. Choose to be an Essentialist at work. Saying NO is a very important skill; but do it in a very polite way. Focus on what is essential, concentrate on getting that done well, as that will add most value.

Don’t use busyness as a badge of honour. When you are asked: ‘How are you? – choose to respond differently.

Instead of stating how busy you are and doing a million things, rather share a story from your life – like what you did yesterday with your children.  Busyness may let other people feel you are more important, but could also make you look like you’re not in control.

Practices for the Essentialist

1. Create space to explore what is essential.
2. Every day write down the 6 things you want to do for the day; prioritise the list, cross off 5; focus on nr 1. Only work on what’s important now. When done, take the next thing.
3. Reallocate resources to the one thing that should get done; make it as effortless as possible

He’s starting a movement on how to become an Essentialist – so watch that space.

How to coach your teams

I want to conclude with the work of Michael Stanier, author of “The Coaching Habit”.

Learn how to coach your teams better by doing the following:

• Listen a bit longer
• Be slower to rush to action and advice
• Probing more to find out what’s below the surface
• Ask a question like: “what’s the real challenge here for you?” It puts the emphasis on the person, rather than the problem.

Look for leadership where you empower people to solve their own problems, and to be self-sufficient.

• Have a few good questions. For example, in response to what a person is saying, encourage them by asking: “yes and what else?”
• Understand the dynamics of behaviour change – habits are the building blocks.
• Overcome the urge to give advice. Rather use the question: ‘what else?’ instead of telling the person what you think.

If you like the Peak Performance ideas and you want to know more, I have good news for you.

You can get Lifetime access to the ‘Peak Work Performance Summit’. You will have unlimited access to interviews with people who are sharing valuable information based on years of research for books and based on their real life experience.

Click here for the Peak Work Performance Summit Lifetime Pass.